The UK government has put housing at the centre of its economic growth agenda, but the system it is relying on is stuck in the past.
Santander UK’s “Fixing the broken chain” report reveals a stark truth: more than 530,000 property transactions collapse every year in England and Wales, costing the economy £1.5bn annually. That’s half a million broken dreams, along with a broken system.
The government’s plan to revolutionise the homebuying journey through technology is welcome, as is evident through the latest consultation on home buying and selling, but the UK still lags far behind global peers when it comes to digital-first property transactions.
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of the public say the homebuying process is difficult. The frustration is palpable, yet the scale of the challenge remains under-appreciated. To fix it, we need bold, decisive reform.
As one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, we are recommending key policy and regulatory change. This change will ensure long-lasting adjustments are made to rejuvenate the housing market.
Leveraging digital transformation
The government has an opportunity to make homebuying simpler, faster, and more secure. Technology is the key, but ambition must match rhetoric.
HM Land Registry’s (HMLR) ambitions to create a government-owned, centralised property data system is a good first step, but it doesn’t go far enough. We need a fully digital, interconnected land and property data network; one that integrates ownership, planning, and safety data into a single, trusted source accessible to all.
We must also embrace AI to automate the repetitive administrative work that slows transactions and constrains conveyancers and lenders. A digital platform is only as powerful as its users, so incentives to digitise the system must align across the system — from lenders to surveyors to estate agents.
While HMLR has begun the journey, it is up to private industry to take up the mantle.
Upfront data
Every year, tens of thousands of deals fall apart because hidden issues emerge too late, whether that’s the survey uncovering issues or disputes over boundaries. It is this that causes people to wrongly pin the blame on conveyancers.
As shown by Santander’s report, at the point of engaging a conveyancer, issues tend to come to the fore. Surveys get carried out that throw up problems, or inaccuracies in Land Registry documents put a spanner in the works. This is not the fault of the conveyancer, it’s simply that the work they do means they are often the ones to uncover any issues.
If buyers had upfront access to all key property information — from structural risks to planning restrictions — they could make informed decisions from the start. Transparency would cut delays, and prevent emotional and financial distress.
Secure data sharing
Better data does not just mean more data. It means smarter, safer, and more consistent sharing across the ecosystem and this clearly came through in the panellists’ discussion.
That is why we are proposing a smart data working group, uniting lenders, conveyancers, brokers, and surveyors to establish open data standards. This would ensure that every stakeholder can access the right information at the right time, underpinned by robust privacy and security regulation.
All parties need to be able to access all information relevant to a transaction, not only to make their own lives easier, but to eliminate duplication, reduce errors, and drastically accelerate the buying process.
Importantly, this must be supported by digital ID verification, and the digitisation of documents in the same way as we’re seeing the introduction of qualified electronic signatures.
Commit to long-term, systemic change
For too long housing reform has focused on short-term fixes like stamp duty holidays. These measures may boost confidence briefly, but they do little to address the underlying inefficiencies that choke the system.
True reform means building a digital-first, data-driven housing ecosystem that encourages sustainable growth. Increasing housing supply is vital but so is making the process of buying and selling more efficient and transparent.
A more digital, data-led system will not only help more people on to the property ladder, but it will also create certainty for buyers and sellers, security for lenders, less stress for conveyancers, and more opportunities for brokers. Above all, it will fuel economic growth.
Time to act
If we want to fix the broken chain, we must work together — government, industry, and technology partners alike.
Better data and embracing digitisation are the place to start.
By this time next year, following the government’s upcoming consultation on homebuying reform, we should see the industry align on a single mission: to make homebuying in the UK digital, transparent, and fit for the future.
Because a modern economy deserves a modern housing market.
Enrique Alvarez is chief executive of retail and business banking at Santander